My belief runs with John Key on this matter. The doctors have PC image to maintain because of a foolish though well meaning law. I am much closer to the end than JK and would be greatly comforted if I knew that if terminal and in great pain I could decide to have the ‘plug pulled’.
Key is right in that it does happen, but I think it’s a lot more of a grey area than he intimated. I also expect that the ‘euthanasia by inaction’ that he’s hinting at comes quite late in the piece, when the individual involved probably would have chosen to end their life months earlier if they’d had the choice.
Maybe they’ve had enough of this gov’t BS with all the porkys Ryall keeps telling about increased doctors and nurses and the slash by stealth they’ve been up to in the health sector along with farming out elective work off the waiting lists to their private hospital mates.
They’re in a tough spot, taking the oath to preserve human life in a system where their paychecks are written by the born to rule neo liberal worhippers and the DHB’s are run by NACT’s mates.
A doctor in the UK kill many many older people without their consent.
The question surely is, in cases where the individual cannot commit suicide then the
consideration of euthanasia can be entered into, but doctor who quicken the end of
life are committing murder and it should not be allowed.
I watched Parliament yesterday and I thought that a comedian had snuck in and was masquerading as John Banks. Because the speech had to be a joke. It is very difficult to achieve the amount of belligerence coupled with stupidity that was on show. Then I confirmed it was actually Banksie.
This is the guy who thinks it’s still 1981 (the time of the 40th NZ government) and who says he’ll be back for the 50th term, when Shearer will be the leader of the opposition – except the current government is the 50th.
He had the gall to say that the Greens can’t get elected in in an electorate seat – ignoring that the Greens have a bigger vote nationally than Act’s pitiful less than 1% (compared with Green Party’s 11-14%) …
Banks is still living in 1981 First Past the Post NZ, when the issue of climate change had far less media attention.
Banks only got elected in an electorate seat because National did a deal. Labour did no such deals with the Greens, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they did something in 2014.
It doesn’t look like the Greens are going to need it. If I was them I wouldn’t want it. Becoming too dependent on an electorate seat for a party seems to result in the party expending too much effort and mana defending it with the inevitable result that they wind up being unable to run a nationwide campaign and a slow descent into being a party of one MP.
They’d be better reaching a loose accord prior to the election so that they can fight to get the voters to vote for their policies to improve their negotiating position after election result.
I’d also add that the party that relies on one electorate MP tends to place more emphasis on the personal beliefs of that indispensable MP than on its policies, i.e. the common beliefs of its membership.
Duh Mickey, that’s pretty much the attitude of the top 1%.
The real movers and shakers don’t live in parliamentary type venues and would never be caught dead on record saying such things, like the Koch Brothers.
Banks is a simply a distracting loon used by the Nat’s to divert attention from the great NZ swindle and should be treated like any child throwing a tantrum and ignored.
Haha John Banks having a go at the Green MPs because they are list MPs and “would never get elected anywhere.”
1. They did get elected, NZers gave the Green party their party vote. 11% to ACTs 1%.
2. John Banks is only there because of a cup of tea ffs.
Also love the challenge to “stand in Epsom in 2014” when JBs dodgyness has been so sorely exposed. It’s going to take a lot of cups of tea for him to get elected anywhere again. Even in BMWtown I mean Epsom.
Shame on Brownleee and NAct for focusing on Roads of Negligible Significance over the importance of revitalising KiwiRail after years of decline under private ownership:
The Labour Party has asked tough questions about the state of KiwiRail after it won a temporary injunction preventing the publication of sensitive material from a leaked business plan.
…
But parts of it were read in Parliament yesterday by Labour MP Phil Twyford under the absolute privilege MPs have, without the source document being identified.
…
Mr Twyford asked several questions of the Minister of State Owned Enterprises, pointing to aspects of the report:
* Has the board of KiwiRail advised him that from 2014 onwards the rail asset will decline and disruption will grow,
…
* Has the board of KiwiRail advised him that the amount to be spent on timber bridges will be cut substantially, projects on the main trunk line will be cancelled or deferred, the overall condition of railway sleepers will decline, …
It takes them too long to revitalise KR so they can flick it off to their mates so they’ll ignore it as it can’t be achieved in their window of power.
So they place their man Quinney atop and park the brownlee bus in front for his unique brand of arrogance and BS and stay the course Joyce set last term.
Charter schools are an experiment on our most vulnerable children, teachers’ union advocate Frances Guy says.
More than 150 parents, teachers and education leaders gathered at the Kelston Community Centre on Tuesday to discuss the Government’s decision to introduce charter schools.
With quotes from John Minto, Waikato University professor of education Martin Thrupp, Massey High School principal Bruce Ritchie, Massey Primary School principal Bruce Barnes, and Kelston Intermediate School teacher Sue Newby. They give a thumbs down to Charter Schools and refer to the fact that NZ already has a very good education system so why try something as dodgy as Charter Schools.
Maybe because 20% are falling out of the bottom of our current system and they want to be proactive and do something about it. All the education establishment will agree to do is the same as they have always been doing so nothing will change.
You do know that the biggest influence is poverty right? Get rid of the poverty and the few percent who are having difficulty will mostly disappear. Do what NACT want and our education will actually suffer – just as what happened in the US and UK after similar reforms.
The education establishment is always doing the research and changing. That’s why schools are better today than when I went to school 30+ years ago. You’re just one of the people who are too stupid to realise that.
The trouble is they are getting worse results than they were getting 30 years ago. The education system is being dumbed down with focus on soft subjects such as “inquiry (aka googling on the internet), kapa haka and “enviro”(aka recycling).
Maths especially is actively demoted, probably because most teachers just dont like it. It is left to one or two teachers in a school to pick up the slack. Same with English with “text” language not being acceptable. And all though this “yes of course little Jimmy’s doing well” – except he’s not and the parents dont find out until the next teacher or he next school. Or the student doesnt find out until he tries to get a job or tries t go to uni and has to do a year of catch up or woese yet just cant get in at all.
In addition to that, the far left-wing bias of the teachers unions and most teachers leaves the students with little exposure to radical ideas such as working hard to achieve goals, looking after yourself and not depending on the state for handouts. Everyone one is a “winner”, no matter how hard they try (or not). It’s “mean” not to give everyone a “reward” (talk about newspeak- even words are changing their meaning) just for turning up.
From what I’ve read/seen it seems that it’s actually getting more challenging. Actually being able to think is far harder than wrote learning.
In addition to that, the far left-wing bias of the teachers unions and most teachers leaves the students with little exposure to radical ideas such as working hard to achieve goals, looking after yourself and not depending on the state for handouts.
Individualism is a dead end – quite literally. You must be a part of a society to survive so it’s not a question of looking for handouts on the left but working together. The right is the home of the handouts. Just look at the RoNS, the cronyism that’s shining through and the massive increase in government borrowing.
It’s “mean” not to give everyone a “reward” (talk about newspeak- even words are changing their meaning) just for turning up.
Got any proof of that or is it just another RWNJ meme?
Om charter schools. It is concerning that at a regulated NZ school a dedicated trickster and paedophile found a way to breach the barriers to staying in teaching. He ingratiated himself into a Maori community by adopting a Maori-centric behaviour. That was an extra breach of trust by someone who was not even NZ pakeha on top of the whole bad behaviour of false friendship with children serving his own personal desires. Procedures were not followed that should have sent a red flag of warning before he could get so entrenched. The Teachers Council were duped, the police did not have the confidence and evidence to proceed further etc. The system failed the children and their parents.
Now if charter schools are to be able to widely employ non-teachers they will be fertile fields for this sort of twisted individual.
Hon Nanaia Mahuta: Is she aware that teachers are police vetted every 3 years when they have to reregister, and can she assure the House that non-registered teachers working in charter schools will also be police vetted every 3 years?
Hon HEKIA PARATA: Indeed, they are often vetted more often than every 3 years, and we will be expecting the same level of probity, protection, and safeguarding of all students in all schools.
Hon Nanaia Mahuta: If there is no difference whatsoever in the vetting and background checks for non-registered charter school teachers, why did officials warn the Minister last year that “There is the challenge of ensuring that students are not put at risk by mentors who are not necessarily subject to professional licensing.”?
Carol
I have a tape of an old piece of advice for budding politicians on how not to answer a question. I don’t know if it was meant to be cutting analysis or spoof. But Parata has learned well. Is there a psychological and speaking test before the NACTs will endorse a candidate for parliament?
I am entirely unreasonable of course. In wanting NZ policies to be more effective and well researched. As I have got older the accretion of examples of our she’ll-be-right, research and expertise lite, approach have grown so I can no longer overlook our innate capacity to go into almost everything on a wing and a prayer. And we aren’t a very religious society either. This is an important revelation to me and so while we must keep trying for better, we are bound to get this sort of vague shit from politicians in answer to searching questions. And this can apply for Left and Right. I just felt I had to get this off my chest. There, there I feel better now.
Rob 6.2
Good point. But it is obvious that conditions where there are no or fewer controls will allow worse situations or more bad ones to surface. Don’t you think?
A black mark for Tonga. A Tongan now a decorated NZ policeman goes home to attend his grandfather’s funeral and ends up dead there after violence with Tongan police involvement. Very sad for his family. Very sad for the state of Tongan male culture. And following my former piece about the destructive power of alcohol when it isn’t carefully limited, an unhappy example that reinforces the rightness of my point.
The Slippery little Shyster’s empty suitcase of intellectual rigor has been opened and exposed for all to see,
Having alienated everyone but the National core 40% of the vote Slippery is beginning to lash out in anger and not having a particular group of people to be angry at,
Making accusations that Doctors and Nurses are regularly killing people in New Zealand hospitals will sure as hell get em all voting for ya,
All but accusing the Hungarian PRT serving in Baghlan Province of being COWARDS is likely to have one of them pay some deviant Afghani to plant road-side explosives in reply to the Prime Ministers abhorrent utterance,
The sooner the country gets rid of this Slippery used-car-salesman the better…
All but accusing the Hungarian PRT serving in Baghlan Province of being COWARDS is likely to have one of them pay some deviant Afghani to plant road-side explosives in reply to the Prime Ministers abhorrent utterance,
That’s as big a slur against the Hungarians as what Key said.
If ever an apology was painfully obviously required it’s here. The Hungarian minister of Defense writes an open letter than says a) you’re wrong, and b) it’s a shame your “comradely spirit” appears to be lacking.
I think that’s diplomatic speak for “f*ck you.”
A no comment response from Key here is pretty much like extending the middle finger in reply. Key is not capable of seeing that there are exceptions to every rule, including the politicians ‘Never admit you are wrong, never apologize’ rule. Sometimes you put your foot so far in it that not apologizing is worse. This dick is supposed to be representing us. Thanks JK.
I’ve made an open Facebook group about this, which I intend to bring to the attention of the Hungarian Ministry of Defence and as many Hungarians as I can. http://www.facebook.com/groups/172650396204620/
Wow a message of hope and change from the Murdoch clan. Golly. I may well be being cynical here, but I do note that her husband is noted PR guru Matthew Freud (Sigmund’s great-grandson no less) who was in with the Tony Blair crowd.
Yay, the news on RadioNZ National, we are saved, the balance of trade tipped firmly in New Zelands favor for this quarter we exported 100 and something million dollars worth of stuff more than what we imported,
Party anyone???
Yeah i’m friggin lying, the whole thing took another tiny step towards the column over to the right of the profit one, you know the one what sez ”gone tits up”
Imports are down 1.4% for the quarter and more telling exports are down 0.4%, expect another 2000 unemployed…
“The thing is, a black man can’t be president in America, given the racial aversion and history that’s still out there,” Cornell Belcher, a pollster for Obama, told the journalist Gwen Ifill after the 2008 election. “However, an extraordinary, gifted, and talented young man who happens to be black can be president.”
Belcher’s formulation grants the power of anti-black racism, and proposes to defeat it by not acknowledging it. His is the perfect statement of the Obama era, a time marked by a revolution that must never announce itself, by a democracy that must never acknowledge the weight of race, even while being shaped by it. Barack Obama governs a nation enlightened enough to send an African American to the White House, but not enlightened enough to accept a black man as its president.
[…]
While Beck and Limbaugh have chosen direct racial assault, others choose simply to deny that a black president actually exists. One in four Americans (and more than half of all Republicans) believe Obama was not born in this country, and thus is an illegitimate president. More than a dozen state legislatures have introduced “birther bills” demanding proof of Obama’s citizenship as a condition for putting him on the 2012 ballot. Eighteen percent of Republicans believe Obama to be a Muslim. The goal of all this is to delegitimize Obama’s presidency. If Obama is not truly American, then America has still never had a black president.
John Beattie, Director of FiordlandLink Experience (monorail) needs to understand that the World Heritage status of our parks is based on the pristine, unaltered nature of the environment and most tourists want to experience that too and if they don’t, there is always Disneyland. http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/fiordland-or-disneyland.html
I saw a ‘story’ which showed Michelle Obama at a soup kitchen handing out food etc and to mark the occasion the final photo showed the young female beneficiary taking a photo with her $500 iPod.
This to me smells of bene-bashing that why should somebody with such a phone get food for free. Completely ignoring the upheavals sadly so common in America and around the world and seemingly requiring one to drop all one’s assets before getting help.
Well that would make no sense because pods and pads and phones are cheaper than food. But it will make for a good ignorant rant by many ignorant ranters.
pfft. Just a recommendation, innit? I’m sure Johnny Boy can pull any number of other recommendations from, erm…well, out his arse really. And be guided by them. (Don’t know how to categorise that [unfortunate?, disturbing?, amusing?…all of the pre-mentioned?] image I just had of JK following his recommendations and so disappearing up his own arse )
Loathe as I am to bring it all up again (who am I kidding, I am not loathe! 🙂 ) have a shufti at tnis: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m90539&fb=1
The bizarre, unhealthy blinding media contempt for Julian Assange.
A warning to all those heading off over the Tasman to live in Australia. Things may not be all that good there as a flock of Aussie Pelicans have settled in the Kaipara Harbour. Perhaps they know something we don’t!
John Key is hamming it up on the dance floor with a bunch of youngsters. Nothing wrong with that. All in good fun.
But does anyone remember when Pete Hodgson and another Labour minister (can’t remember who) did exactly the same thing in 2007/8? They were derided and lampooned by a spiteful MSM.
What’s the bet Key will be lauded by the same MSM as a… good fellow who joins in the fun and makes everyone smile and laugh.
Similarly on NewstalkZB this afternoon, host Larry Williams and NBR hackette Ellen Read snarled that the law needs to come down far more heavily on people who drink too much. When token liberal Tim Watkin pointed out that they usually slam talk like that as “nanny state”, Williams and Read did not miss a beat.
“That’s not nanny state!” shouted Read.
“No,” agreed Williams, “That’s just doing something about drinking!”
As usual, Watkin declined to challenge them any further.
“The point of the treaty-based international consensus was to make it comfortable for multinationals to romp around the world while paying minimal tax.”
and
“A pernicious fiction propagated by the OECD is that the arm’s-length method produces precise results, while all other methods of allocating income are sloppy. The arm’s-length method is illusory.. . . fiction piled on top of fiction”
The KiwiRail report has the figure of $200 million over 3 years as a shortfall or reduction in funding. With unfortunate consequences for its effectiveness. Brownlee throws in the ‘information’ that the government is spending hundreds of millions on it. I think the job he’s in is too big for him. The roads are using up hundreds of millions or is it billions. The difference is that it is glamorous to float along in the BMW or the latest humvee, while only peasants and hard working productive firms are using rail.
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Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
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Looks as though John-Mr-nice-and-natural-tell-it-how-it-is-Key’s off the cuff, unresearched sound bites are beginning to get him into trouble. Now it’s not only the Hungarian’s he has upset but also New Zealand’s hospitals and doctors
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7538178/PMs-euthanasia-claim-sparks-anger
My belief runs with John Key on this matter. The doctors have PC image to maintain because of a foolish though well meaning law. I am much closer to the end than JK and would be greatly comforted if I knew that if terminal and in great pain I could decide to have the ‘plug pulled’.
Having the “plug pulled” is not euthenasia in the context of the bill being proposed.
Key is right in that it does happen, but I think it’s a lot more of a grey area than he intimated. I also expect that the ‘euthanasia by inaction’ that he’s hinting at comes quite late in the piece, when the individual involved probably would have chosen to end their life months earlier if they’d had the choice.
Lanthanide, it may well be a grey area, I cannot be certain (who can?), but it would be a change to see Key using a little more “grey matter”!
Key is right in that it does happen,
Nonsense. Can you provide us with one example of a doctor killing a patient in this country?
Maybe they’ve had enough of this gov’t BS with all the porkys Ryall keeps telling about increased doctors and nurses and the slash by stealth they’ve been up to in the health sector along with farming out elective work off the waiting lists to their private hospital mates.
They’re in a tough spot, taking the oath to preserve human life in a system where their paychecks are written by the born to rule neo liberal worhippers and the DHB’s are run by NACT’s mates.
A doctor in the UK kill many many older people without their consent.
The question surely is, in cases where the individual cannot commit suicide then the
consideration of euthanasia can be entered into, but doctor who quicken the end of
life are committing murder and it should not be allowed.
Is Shipman at all relevant to the current bill?
No.
I watched Parliament yesterday and I thought that a comedian had snuck in and was masquerading as John Banks. Because the speech had to be a joke. It is very difficult to achieve the amount of belligerence coupled with stupidity that was on show. Then I confirmed it was actually Banksie.
The speech was on the Government’s further undermining of the ETS.
If the attitude of Banks is held by even a minority of the world’s population then the planet is fcuked.
This is the guy who thinks it’s still 1981 (the time of the 40th NZ government) and who says he’ll be back for the 50th term, when Shearer will be the leader of the opposition – except the current government is the 50th.
He had the gall to say that the Greens can’t get elected in in an electorate seat – ignoring that the Greens have a bigger vote nationally than Act’s pitiful less than 1% (compared with Green Party’s 11-14%) …
Banks is still living in 1981 First Past the Post NZ, when the issue of climate change had far less media attention.
Banks only got elected in an electorate seat because National did a deal. Labour did no such deals with the Greens, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they did something in 2014.
It doesn’t look like the Greens are going to need it. If I was them I wouldn’t want it. Becoming too dependent on an electorate seat for a party seems to result in the party expending too much effort and mana defending it with the inevitable result that they wind up being unable to run a nationwide campaign and a slow descent into being a party of one MP.
They’d be better reaching a loose accord prior to the election so that they can fight to get the voters to vote for their policies to improve their negotiating position after election result.
Yeah, I agree with that assessment.
Except where Labour and the Greens doing a deal means that a seat goes to the left instead of the right.
Yep, that’s the one.
I’d also add that the party that relies on one electorate MP tends to place more emphasis on the personal beliefs of that indispensable MP than on its policies, i.e. the common beliefs of its membership.
So did Labour do a deal with Jim Anderton similar to Banks ?
National had to gift a seat to Banks.
Anderton always had his seat to begin with.
Didn’t Labour accommodate the Greens so that Fitsimmons got Coromandel?
Not sure, but National consistently beat the Greens there from 2002 on.
Duh Mickey, that’s pretty much the attitude of the top 1%.
The real movers and shakers don’t live in parliamentary type venues and would never be caught dead on record saying such things, like the Koch Brothers.
Banks is a simply a distracting loon used by the Nat’s to divert attention from the great NZ swindle and should be treated like any child throwing a tantrum and ignored.
He should have been kicked out for insulting elected members of parliament. List MPs are elected.
I think his robot circuitry is affected by solar flares.
Haha John Banks having a go at the Green MPs because they are list MPs and “would never get elected anywhere.”
1. They did get elected, NZers gave the Green party their party vote. 11% to ACTs 1%.
2. John Banks is only there because of a cup of tea ffs.
Also love the challenge to “stand in Epsom in 2014” when JBs dodgyness has been so sorely exposed. It’s going to take a lot of cups of tea for him to get elected anywhere again. Even in BMWtown I mean Epsom.
Shame on Brownleee and NAct for focusing on Roads of Negligible Significance over the importance of revitalising KiwiRail after years of decline under private ownership:
Good work by Twyford:
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/3/4/a/50HansQ_20120823_00000001-1-KiwiRail-Confidence-in-Board.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tSzzUZM8JU
It takes them too long to revitalise KR so they can flick it off to their mates so they’ll ignore it as it can’t be achieved in their window of power.
So they place their man Quinney atop and park the brownlee bus in front for his unique brand of arrogance and BS and stay the course Joyce set last term.
Stand with Pussy Riot
http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_pussy_riot_free_russia_e
A slightly more Russian perspective on Pussy Riot. Which suggests why they got a more than negligible 2 year sentence.
http://exiledonline.com/crime-pussy-riot-the-russian-soul-world-war-iii-how-pussy-riot-troupe-got-the-exile-censored-in-2008/
I see the Western Leader (West Auckland local paper) has a (hard copy) front page article slamming Charter Schools. Online version here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/7539981/Charters-experiment-on-poor
With quotes from John Minto, Waikato University professor of education Martin Thrupp, Massey High School principal Bruce Ritchie, Massey Primary School principal Bruce Barnes, and Kelston Intermediate School teacher Sue Newby. They give a thumbs down to Charter Schools and refer to the fact that NZ already has a very good education system so why try something as dodgy as Charter Schools.
Maybe because 20% are falling out of the bottom of our current system and they want to be proactive and do something about it. All the education establishment will agree to do is the same as they have always been doing so nothing will change.
Bollocks
You do know that the biggest influence is poverty right? Get rid of the poverty and the few percent who are having difficulty will mostly disappear. Do what NACT want and our education will actually suffer – just as what happened in the US and UK after similar reforms.
The education establishment is always doing the research and changing. That’s why schools are better today than when I went to school 30+ years ago. You’re just one of the people who are too stupid to realise that.
yep.
Most of our social ills are symptoms of a deeper malady, not maladies themselves.
The trouble is they are getting worse results than they were getting 30 years ago. The education system is being dumbed down with focus on soft subjects such as “inquiry (aka googling on the internet), kapa haka and “enviro”(aka recycling).
Maths especially is actively demoted, probably because most teachers just dont like it. It is left to one or two teachers in a school to pick up the slack. Same with English with “text” language not being acceptable. And all though this “yes of course little Jimmy’s doing well” – except he’s not and the parents dont find out until the next teacher or he next school. Or the student doesnt find out until he tries to get a job or tries t go to uni and has to do a year of catch up or woese yet just cant get in at all.
In addition to that, the far left-wing bias of the teachers unions and most teachers leaves the students with little exposure to radical ideas such as working hard to achieve goals, looking after yourself and not depending on the state for handouts. Everyone one is a “winner”, no matter how hard they try (or not). It’s “mean” not to give everyone a “reward” (talk about newspeak- even words are changing their meaning) just for turning up.
Yeah the education system is doing real well.
But they’re not are they? 30 years ago 50% passed and the results of the pupils were altered to ensure that.
From what I’ve read/seen it seems that it’s actually getting more challenging. Actually being able to think is far harder than wrote learning.
Individualism is a dead end – quite literally. You must be a part of a society to survive so it’s not a question of looking for handouts on the left but working together. The right is the home of the handouts. Just look at the RoNS, the cronyism that’s shining through and the massive increase in government borrowing.
Got any proof of that or is it just another RWNJ meme?
OT/U-T
Om charter schools. It is concerning that at a regulated NZ school a dedicated trickster and paedophile found a way to breach the barriers to staying in teaching. He ingratiated himself into a Maori community by adopting a Maori-centric behaviour. That was an extra breach of trust by someone who was not even NZ pakeha on top of the whole bad behaviour of false friendship with children serving his own personal desires. Procedures were not followed that should have sent a red flag of warning before he could get so entrenched. The Teachers Council were duped, the police did not have the confidence and evidence to proceed further etc. The system failed the children and their parents.
Now if charter schools are to be able to widely employ non-teachers they will be fertile fields for this sort of twisted individual.
Yes, prism, Nania Mahuta quizzed Parata on that very issue this week. I’m not convinced by her replies:
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/1/7/2/50HansQ_20120822_00000007-7-Teaching-Staff-Non-registered-Application.htm
Carol
I have a tape of an old piece of advice for budding politicians on how not to answer a question. I don’t know if it was meant to be cutting analysis or spoof. But Parata has learned well. Is there a psychological and speaking test before the NACTs will endorse a candidate for parliament?
I am entirely unreasonable of course. In wanting NZ policies to be more effective and well researched. As I have got older the accretion of examples of our she’ll-be-right, research and expertise lite, approach have grown so I can no longer overlook our innate capacity to go into almost everything on a wing and a prayer. And we aren’t a very religious society either. This is an important revelation to me and so while we must keep trying for better, we are bound to get this sort of vague shit from politicians in answer to searching questions. And this can apply for Left and Right. I just felt I had to get this off my chest. There, there I feel better now.
So you are condeming charter schools for heinous issues that are hapening in the current system?
Rob 6.2
Good point. But it is obvious that conditions where there are no or fewer controls will allow worse situations or more bad ones to surface. Don’t you think?
A black mark for Tonga. A Tongan now a decorated NZ policeman goes home to attend his grandfather’s funeral and ends up dead there after violence with Tongan police involvement. Very sad for his family. Very sad for the state of Tongan male culture. And following my former piece about the destructive power of alcohol when it isn’t carefully limited, an unhappy example that reinforces the rightness of my point.
The PM should apologise to the Hungarians.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1208/S00354/hungarian-defence-minister-on-nz-afghanistan-deaths.htm
Honestly, our Prime Minister is a dick NZ.
What a bozo.
Bozo the clown. Hungary, euthanasia, John Key is seriously lacking not just wisdom and depth but also basic knowledge.
What the fuck is he doing?
The Slippery little Shyster’s empty suitcase of intellectual rigor has been opened and exposed for all to see,
Having alienated everyone but the National core 40% of the vote Slippery is beginning to lash out in anger and not having a particular group of people to be angry at,
Making accusations that Doctors and Nurses are regularly killing people in New Zealand hospitals will sure as hell get em all voting for ya,
All but accusing the Hungarian PRT serving in Baghlan Province of being COWARDS is likely to have one of them pay some deviant Afghani to plant road-side explosives in reply to the Prime Ministers abhorrent utterance,
The sooner the country gets rid of this Slippery used-car-salesman the better…
That’s as big a slur against the Hungarians as what Key said.
+1
Well, he “won’t be commenting” on the Hungarian open letter according to Felix Marwick.
Dick. (not Marwick, he’s just doing his job)
If ever an apology was painfully obviously required it’s here. The Hungarian minister of Defense writes an open letter than says a) you’re wrong, and b) it’s a shame your “comradely spirit” appears to be lacking.
I think that’s diplomatic speak for “f*ck you.”
A no comment response from Key here is pretty much like extending the middle finger in reply. Key is not capable of seeing that there are exceptions to every rule, including the politicians ‘Never admit you are wrong, never apologize’ rule. Sometimes you put your foot so far in it that not apologizing is worse. This dick is supposed to be representing us. Thanks JK.
What a wanker.
I wonder houw our diplomatic corp’s already high esteem for John Key is doing now.
“What the fuck is he doing?”
He’s making up as he goes along.
Should read “making it up”.
I’ve made an open Facebook group about this, which I intend to bring to the attention of the Hungarian Ministry of Defence and as many Hungarians as I can.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/172650396204620/
What weight would any apology from the PM carry? What self-respecting nation would want to receive a chunk of his insincerity?
The ongoing saga of the Murdochs and MSM….
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/7540529/Murdoch-profit-alone-a-disaster
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!( Pleased to see they have a dark sense of humour)….
Wow a message of hope and change from the Murdoch clan. Golly. I may well be being cynical here, but I do note that her husband is noted PR guru Matthew Freud (Sigmund’s great-grandson no less) who was in with the Tony Blair crowd.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-406666/The-night-Tony-Blair-cross-fertilised-PR-guru-Freud.html
Yay, the news on RadioNZ National, we are saved, the balance of trade tipped firmly in New Zelands favor for this quarter we exported 100 and something million dollars worth of stuff more than what we imported,
Party anyone???
Yeah i’m friggin lying, the whole thing took another tiny step towards the column over to the right of the profit one, you know the one what sez ”gone tits up”
Imports are down 1.4% for the quarter and more telling exports are down 0.4%, expect another 2000 unemployed…
Ta-Nehisi Coates: Fear of a Black President
“The thing is, a black man can’t be president in America, given the racial aversion and history that’s still out there,” Cornell Belcher, a pollster for Obama, told the journalist Gwen Ifill after the 2008 election. “However, an extraordinary, gifted, and talented young man who happens to be black can be president.”
Belcher’s formulation grants the power of anti-black racism, and proposes to defeat it by not acknowledging it. His is the perfect statement of the Obama era, a time marked by a revolution that must never announce itself, by a democracy that must never acknowledge the weight of race, even while being shaped by it. Barack Obama governs a nation enlightened enough to send an African American to the White House, but not enlightened enough to accept a black man as its president.
[…]
While Beck and Limbaugh have chosen direct racial assault, others choose simply to deny that a black president actually exists. One in four Americans (and more than half of all Republicans) believe Obama was not born in this country, and thus is an illegitimate president. More than a dozen state legislatures have introduced “birther bills” demanding proof of Obama’s citizenship as a condition for putting him on the 2012 ballot. Eighteen percent of Republicans believe Obama to be a Muslim. The goal of all this is to delegitimize Obama’s presidency. If Obama is not truly American, then America has still never had a black president.
Meanwhile….
This too.
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/08/lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-loquacious/261481/
John Beattie, Director of FiordlandLink Experience (monorail) needs to understand that the World Heritage status of our parks is based on the pristine, unaltered nature of the environment and most tourists want to experience that too and if they don’t, there is always Disneyland.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/fiordland-or-disneyland.html
I saw a ‘story’ which showed Michelle Obama at a soup kitchen handing out food etc and to mark the occasion the final photo showed the young female beneficiary taking a photo with her $500 iPod.
This to me smells of bene-bashing that why should somebody with such a phone get food for free. Completely ignoring the upheavals sadly so common in America and around the world and seemingly requiring one to drop all one’s assets before getting help.
Well that would make no sense because pods and pads and phones are cheaper than food. But it will make for a good ignorant rant by many ignorant ranters.
A quick search on Ebay shows a used Apple iPhone 1st Generation at $50 through to an Apple iPhone 3G at $95.
what about “KILLER” key.
he has an opinion on anything and everything these days.
next time he goes to the “states” maybe he should stay there.
The Waitangi Tribunal has ruled that the asset sales process must be stopped until the water claim is resolved.
Cat meet pidgeons.
pfft. Just a recommendation, innit? I’m sure Johnny Boy can pull any number of other recommendations from, erm…well, out his arse really. And be guided by them. (Don’t know how to categorise that [unfortunate?, disturbing?, amusing?…all of the pre-mentioned?] image I just had of JK following his recommendations and so disappearing up his own arse )
“nom nom nom …pigeons!” *burp*
The Week in Pictures
“Whistle-blower”, speaking from the Ecuadorian embassy, maintains right to reveal restricted information
Link
funny
Well done. If those posters don’t bring down the government, nothing will.
Loathe as I am to bring it all up again (who am I kidding, I am not loathe! 🙂 ) have a shufti at tnis:
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m90539&fb=1
The bizarre, unhealthy blinding media contempt for Julian Assange.
Thanks for that, Vicky.
Here’s something on the same theme from the excellent Media Lens site….
http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=686:incinerating-assange-the-liberal-media-go-to-work&catid=25:alerts-2012&Itemid=69
Nice link to David Green’s article.
Bookmarked.
Thanks for the genuinely informative links.
30% of recent US fatalities in Afghanistan were ‘Green on Blue’ killings by Afghan “allies”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_WM64iCt24&feature=g-all-u
The highest ever in the history of the Afghanistan conflict. Its a fuck up. And our troops are dying over there.
…and our “leaders” couldn’t give a fuck.
A warning to all those heading off over the Tasman to live in Australia. Things may not be all that good there as a flock of Aussie Pelicans have settled in the Kaipara Harbour. Perhaps they know something we don’t!
Picked this video up on the Herald site:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/video.cfm?c_id=1&gal_cid=1&gallery_id=127574
John Key is hamming it up on the dance floor with a bunch of youngsters. Nothing wrong with that. All in good fun.
But does anyone remember when Pete Hodgson and another Labour minister (can’t remember who) did exactly the same thing in 2007/8? They were derided and lampooned by a spiteful MSM.
What’s the bet Key will be lauded by the same MSM as a… good fellow who joins in the fun and makes everyone smile and laugh.
Similarly on NewstalkZB this afternoon, host Larry Williams and NBR hackette Ellen Read snarled that the law needs to come down far more heavily on people who drink too much. When token liberal Tim Watkin pointed out that they usually slam talk like that as “nanny state”, Williams and Read did not miss a beat.
“That’s not nanny state!” shouted Read.
“No,” agreed Williams, “That’s just doing something about drinking!”
As usual, Watkin declined to challenge them any further.
An interesting take on transfer pricing.
The KiwiRail report has the figure of $200 million over 3 years as a shortfall or reduction in funding. With unfortunate consequences for its effectiveness. Brownlee throws in the ‘information’ that the government is spending hundreds of millions on it. I think the job he’s in is too big for him. The roads are using up hundreds of millions or is it billions. The difference is that it is glamorous to float along in the BMW or the latest humvee, while only peasants and hard working productive firms are using rail.